Jennifer Newstead Sells 1,439 Shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) SVP Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $317.01, for a total transaction of $456,177.39. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 35,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,345,787.90. This trade represents a 3.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Jennifer Newstead also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, August 25th, Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of Apple stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.95, for a total value of $447,457.05.
• On Tuesday, August 18th, Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of Apple stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.49, for a total value of $442,478.11.
• On Tuesday, August 11th, Jennifer Newstead sold 1,439 shares of Apple stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.75, for a total value of $442,852.25.

Apple Stock Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $319.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $315.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $290.34. The company has a market cap of $4.67 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.08. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $225.95 and a 1-year high of $344.57.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $109.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.04 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 135.46% and a net margin of 27.62%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.39%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Avenir Tech Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its position in Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $65,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Apple from $345.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. HSBC upgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $366.00 in a report on Thursday, July 16th. KGI Securities downgraded Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and set a $365.00 price objective (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, BTIG Research assumed coverage on Apple in a report on Monday, August 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $330.61.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s Sept. 9 product event is generating significant interest under new CEO John Ternus, with expectations for new iPhones, an Apple Watch update and potentially the company’s first foldable iPhone. Citi estimates the foldable device could sell 7.3 million units despite a possible price above $2,000. Citi foldable iPhone sales forecast
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s latest quarter showed strong momentum, with revenue rising 16.4% year over year and earnings exceeding analyst expectations. Morgan Stanley has also suggested the foldable iPhone could contribute roughly $14 billion in December-quarter revenue if successfully launched. Morgan Stanley foldable iPhone estimate
• Neutral Sentiment: John Ternus has succeeded Tim Cook as CEO, while Cook remains executive chairman. The transition offers continuity through a longtime Apple executive but raises questions about whether Ternus can accelerate Apple’s artificial-intelligence strategy and sustain Cook-era growth. John Ternus becomes Apple CEO
• Negative Sentiment: Reports indicate initial foldable iPhone production was only a few hundred units per day in late August. Tight quality controls and memory shortages could limit launch supply, delay purchases and prevent Apple from fully capturing expected demand. Foldable iPhone production hurdles
• Negative Sentiment: Memory costs have reportedly surged, potentially forcing Apple to raise iPhone prices, absorb lower margins or risk weaker demand. Jefferies has also downgraded AAPL amid skepticism about the foldable product’s market potential. iPhone memory cost concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Apple faces a $2.7 billion UK lawsuit over alleged unfair app-tracking rules and a separate BASF patent lawsuit involving facial-authentication technology, adding regulatory and litigation risk. Apple UK app-tracking lawsuit

About Apple

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple’s principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.